Regional Smart City Development Focus: The South Korean National Strategic Smart City Program

Cities around the world are interested in using information and communications technology to solve their urban problems. The smart city concept has been widely adopted as a solution, but the range of services offered in smart cities varies by city and region. The differences are due to a variety of factors, including urban characteristics, social needs, and governmental structures. In Korea, the National Strategic Smart City Program (NSSP) was launched to establish a new technological ecosystem and standards for smart cities. In this study, we introduce the smart city services being developed by the Korean NSSP and compare them to services offered in 15 smart cities in Europe, Asia, and North America. The NSSP services are characterized by applications of 5G telecommunication technology and the definition of its data structure. These characteristics are unique; unlike other existing smart city policies, the NSSP aims to widen the industrial territory of the smart city itself. In conclusion, smart city policies in recent years include measures for not only making cities sustainable but also creating prospective industrial areas, which requires cooperation with public information and construction systems.